An Italian prosecutor has called for more than two dozen top tennis players to be investigated by the Tennis Integrity Unit for possible links to betting rings.
Roberto Di Martino has told the BBC that tennis authorities should be doing more with evidence he has gathered concerning at least two players who have ranked in the world’s top 20.
The Italians Potito Starace and Daniele Bracciali are the only professionals to be investigated and charged thus far but Di Martino has called for others to be scrutinised by the TIU.
Speaking to the BBC the Cremona-based prosecutor said: “Surely if these foreign players were Italian, they would certainly have been at least questioned.”
Di Martino claimed that more than 24 non-Italian players had been mentioned by gamblers in recordings of phone calls and internet chat logs acquired through his investigation.
“Interestingly, they are not so-called second-tier tennis players, but also players of some importance,” he said.
Starace and Bracciali have been accused of conspiring to fix matches and are due to appear in court in May. They both deny charges of conspiracy to commit sporting fraud.
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